1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of plug-in connectors for the connection of at least one conductor, in particular in the field of plug-in connectors for conductor cabling with an optical conductor.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Plug-in connectors are known from the state of the art in order to be able to connect conductors, such as, for example, an optical conductor to a device or to another conductor or to be able to join them to the same. For this purpose, the plug-in connector can be releasably plugged into a further plug-in connector, or by means of a coupling, can be plugged-in on a device or another conductor with which the connection is to be made. In particular in the case of optical conductors, precise positioning of the conductor inside a plug-in connection is necessary in order to ensure a perfect optical transmission. Even the smallest irregularities at a connection point can disturb or completely interrupt a transmission.
As a rule, a plug-in connector as claimed in the state of the art includes a sleeve-shaped basic body, in which is housed a conductor holder which holds a conductor, such as, for instance, an optical fiber conductor. The conductor holder consists, for example, of a ferrule with a ferrule holder which can align the ferrule inside the basic body. The optical fiber is housed for the most part in a flexible conductor cable. To produce the connection, the fiber is stripped from the cable and guided inside the ferrule. At a rear end of the plug-in connector, the conductor exits from the same and can be bent around the outside edge of the plug-in connector. In order to protect the conductor from kinking or breaking at said edge, the plug-in connector has an anti-kink element which surrounds the conductor in the outlet region out of the plug-in connector and prevents excessive bending around a small bending radius where the conductor could kink or break. For this purpose, a flexibly pliable region of the anti-kink element extends over the cable. The pliable region can be bent, but not kinked. The cable can thus be moved in a desired direction at the outlet out of the plug-in connector without the risk of damaging the cable at the same time. Such an anti-kink element is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,690.
In order to ensure a secure connection of the conductor, the conductor holder is mounted so as to be movable in the axial direction inside the basic body and is prestressed by means of a spring into a feed position in which the conductor is pushed forward in the plug-in direction in relation to the basic body. The conductor can be displaced in relation to the basic body in opposition to the spring force into a plug-in position in opposition to the plug-in direction such that a compressive force which is necessary for producing a contact can be ensured and at the same time a secure conductor connection is made. To this end, the spring is slid over the conductor holder until it strikes against a stop edge on the conductor holder. Behind the spring, a counter spring piece is slid onto the conductor holder, said counter spring piece having a second stop edge for the spring. The counter spring piece is bonded or locked to the basic body. The cable end, from which the conductor held in the conductor holder exits, can be secured on the counter spring piece. In addition, the anti-kink element, as a separate part, connects to the counter spring piece and surrounds the conductor, or the cable with the conductor, once it exits from the plug-in connector. An unlocking element surrounds the basic body, the counter spring piece and part of the anti-kink element, said unlocking element being movable in relation to the basic body in order to trigger a locking process which secures the seat of the plug-in connector in the coupling. Such a plug-in connector is known, for example, from EP 1091226 B1 which shows a plug-in connector which is known as an LC connector.
During the production of a known plug-in connector, various individual components have to be fitted together. At the same time, however, only minimum positional deviations can be tolerated so that sufficient quality and precision for a good transmission is ensured. A large number of components have a disadvantageous effect on the overall installation size and the production process of the plug-in connector. There is an increased space requirement and additional functionalities become necessary such as, for instance, producing suitable component connections or ensuring precise positioning of the components with respect to one another.